A finishing belt device of this type is known from WO 2012/065949 A1 (FIGS. 2, 4 and 7 therein). Within the meaning of the present invention, the expression “linear contact region” is used to create a distinction from arrangements in which a finishing belt winds around part of the workpiece peripheral surface (see for example FIG. 8 in WO 2012/065949 A1).
When finishing a workpiece by means of a finishing belt, a workpiece to be machined is rotated about an axis of rotation. The active side of a finishing belt is pressed against a rotating peripheral surface, that is to be finished, of the workpiece. In the process, a translational oscillating movement is superposed on the rotational movement of the workpiece. In this case, the finishing belt and the workpiece move back and forth relative to one another in a direction parallel to the axis of rotation. This thus produces a cross-grinding structure characteristic of the finishing method.
It has been found that it can be difficult to machine a workpiece peripheral surface that does not have a rotationally symmetrical geometry, for example cam peripheral surfaces of a cam shaft. The aim is for the cam peripheral surface to be machined to a consistently high surface quality along the entire periphery. The problem here, however, is that the finishing belt has to be prevented from lifting off from the cam peripheral surface being rotated. To ensure this in practice, relatively low rotational speeds are usually selected. However, these low rotational speeds lead to longer machining times.